Beale Street entry fee might be imposed again

Copyright 2014 Journal Media Group. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

New anti-crowding measures mean that if you go to Beale Street, you might have to pay a fee to enter — but likely only in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Downtown Memphis Commission will work with the Beale Street Merchants Association and the police to decide each week whether to charge the fee, said Paul Morris, president of the commission and interim manager of the famous street of nightclubs and bars. The decision will depend on anticipated crowd size and security conditions, he said.

“If you want to come to Beale Street and start partying after midnight, then I would be prepared to pay a fee as you might encounter that,” he said. “I don’t anticipate ever charging a fee before midnight because we just haven’t had any problems on Beale Street before midnight.”

He described the fee as a way to resolve security concerns without a strict curfew.

Beale Street bars and clubs closed at 3 a.m. Sunday, earlier than the 5 a.m. closing time that some nightclubs have. Morris said the clubs made the choice voluntarily. And to thin out crowds, a fee of $10 was collected at entrances to the street. The money will help pay for security guards.

At peak times in recent weeks, crowds have grown so thick that people couldn’t move easily and police couldn’t see what was happening, Morris said. He said crowding contributed to a situation early on Aug. 10 in which a man lay unconscious and bleeding on the street for some time before anyone helped him.

“The security fee will only be imposed as necessary to prevent dangerous overcrowding, which traditionally has only occurred about one or two in the morning on Sunday mornings,” Morris said. “So this should not affect the majority of folks enjoying Beale Street at all, and for the folks that might want to hang out on Beale at one or two in the morning, it will make the street a lot safer.”

Ty Agee, president of the Beale Street Merchants Association, said his group fully supports the security measures.

“We want to make Beale Street as safe as it can possibly be for our customers,” he said.

Some people used cellphones to photograph and film the man lying on the street but didn’t try to help. Police Director Toney Armstrong called the scene “disheartening.”

Some leaders of Beale Street interviewed Monday said they won’t be passive bystanders when it comes to the street’s security.

“We don’t want to be the people standing around looking at this like in that video that I’m sure you’ve seen,” said Sandy Robertson, owner of the restaurant and nightclub Alfred’s on Beale.

The city of Memphis took over management of the entertainment district on Jan. 1 from Performa Entertainment Real Estate. For now, the Downtown Memphis Commission is managing Beale Street on the city’s behalf.

Morris said the mayor’s administration will soon present the Memphis City Council with a proposal to create a Beale Street Tourism Development Authority. Its members would be appointed by the mayor and would select a long-term manager for the district.

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Memphis City Council preview

Here’s a look at the schedule for Tuesday’s Memphis City Council meeting at City Hall.

At 8:30 a.m., the council will once again discuss proposals for fixing the city’s financial problems — the body is looking for additional money that could help reverse its highly controversial June 17 vote to cut most subsidies for retiree health care and shift the money into the city’s troubled pension fund.

At 11:30 a.m., police will present their monthly progress report on the backlog of untested sexual assault kits.

At 2 p.m., the Greater Memphis Chamber will defend tax breaks for businesses.

At 3:30 p.m., council members will move from committee meetings to the full session. Among the items before them is a proposal on second reading to send a half-cent sales tax increase to a public vote — that item might be pulled off the agenda following an opinion against the proposal by City Council attorney Allan Wade.

Also, members of the Facebook group “I Have Been Negatively Affected by The City Of Memphis Council Vote!!” are urging people to come to the afternoon session. Many are likely speak against retiree health care cuts during the public comment period.

Copyright 2015 Journal Media Group. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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